Being Black in the time of Trump

Hello my peoples,

I don’t know about you, but I miss President Obama. During these times, we need to remember that we are still living in Obama’s economy.
The jobs growth- Obama
Healthcare- Obama
Stock Market- Obama
Minimum wage increases- Obama
Green economy- Obama

We need to also remember that we will feel the full effect of Trump’s policies in the next 4 years going forward. Just think of the Bush years. Clinton left a booming surplus economy and it only took Bush 4 years to destroy it. Remember, that’s why we got Obama., a republican President drove the economy into the ditch. The sad thing is, he was smarter than the present dude.
I am not here to bash President Trump, because it just waste energy and history will always uncover the truth.

I have been slow reading the new Frederick Douglass biography by David Blight and it helps me appreciate and understand the times we are in now. Just think about it, Fred saw all the progress made during abolition and reconstruction only to see so much ground lost during the beginnings of Jim Crow. In reading the book, I saw that white supremacy takes no vacations and will try and rewrite history because most of the populists takes the path of least resistance. Fred never stop living as a man and continued to speak truth to power. I don’t want to give a summary of the book, so I suggest that you make this your holiday read and come back and discuss it with me.

So, with the holidays amongst us, what should we discuss? Beyoncé, Jay-Z or Kanye? As Whitney Houston once said, “Hell to the no!” We see a lot of this mindless material on television. I think it should be finances. Why? Because money issues shorten our life span, leads to divorce, unhappy retirements and unhappy relationships. As a black man living in New England, I have learned that weekends are great for biking, tennis, golf, and farm to table eating. Weekends are not meant for Mall retail shopping, fast food eating, and any sedentary activity possible. I also love the Lord, but have found many ways and places to worship not always in the traditional church structure. I sometimes attend church with my white brethren when I want a short service with the word, but I also go to the black church for spiritual renewal. There is just something about a white choir singing Negro spirituals that is just not right. So, I will be attending my black church during the holidays with my people. You know, “Silent Night” with the Motown twist can’t be beat at Christmas.

So back to finances, as I read Frederick Douglass, one of my takeaways is that blacks after Reconstruction were involved in educating their children and were trying to make impacts on society. As, I look at  the Jay-Z’s, Will Smiths, Kanye’s and multiple wealthy celebrities, I wonder if they are producing future doctors, scientists, and lawyers or future consumers of mindless materialism? Is it the ultimate goal to be on E!News every night? Is that what our people fought and died for? You know the ironic thing about this whole college admissions scam involving celebrities? There were no black celebrity parents. They will buy kids $200,000 cars and throw the biggest birthday bashes but are not trying to get their kids into elite colleges, even illegally. I will give George Foreman some serious credit, none of his kids are boxers; but they are lawyers, doctors and dentists even though their father is worth $300 million and they could live off his wealth.
Let’s keep our eyes on the prize. During this holiday season, don’t overspend. Your kids should still love you if they don’t get the latest new toy and if they have issues check your parenting skills. Trust me I am raising two strong sisters who are woke and self conscious. Maybe it’s the parenting or because they have a frugal dad, but this year they want gifts after Christmas when stores give the greatest markdowns. They are giving me my greatest Christmas gift, Frugal Kids on the black side.

So, during this period of holiday joy and political turmoil, get your finances in order so that you can bear the economic down turn coming, and believe me, it is coming. We may have one or two years of breathing room. So do these during the holidays:

1. Pay off as much debt as possible
2. Build reserve funds
3. Build retirement
4. Educate your kids, if A’s are not coming home, some serious shit needs to get restricted.
5. Join Planet Fitness instead of buying a Peloton
6. Upgrade to a used car instead of a new car
7. Stop drinking all soft drinks and switch to Perrier
    This and reduced bread intake will improve health and weight loss
8. Buy a subscription to Consumer Reports
9. Subscribe to SiriusXM for Urban Talk-get woke
10. You still need to get your kid a junior golf membership to a nice golf course plus lessons
11. For the  HolidayFive Black Movies to Watch this Holiday

Peace out for now,
Frugal Frank on the Blackside

New Year’s Resolution in the Black

Hello my Peoples,

Welcome back in 2019. I hope you had a good holiday and had lots of love and cheer. We vacationed over the holidays at a lovely resort in Vermont. I wanted to enter the axe throwing competition but on the morning of it the temperature was zero. So, I, instead stayed in and enjoyed the beautifully fallen snow and finished reading the biography of Alain Locke. I would highly recommend this weighty reading. I don’t know if you have tried Groupon for vacation deals but I would highly recommend it. Now, Let’s get started fresh off the bat with some great resolutions.

Number 1:
Identify and eliminate destructive values from your life.
Although most values are positive, we all have those which are not good for us.
Like:
1. The desire for something for nothing. Symptoms can be playing the lottery, gambling or cheating.
2. The desire to gossip. It allows us to feel better or superior to talk about other people’s problems and while avoiding our issues.
3. The desire for instant gratification. After all some of us are a part of the “me generation”
   
Remember that identifying leads to correction. As Patti LaBelle says, “Don’t block the blessings.”

Number 2:
Create your dream list for the year.Write down things you would like to do in 2019.
1. Where would you like to travel.
2. How much money would you like to save.
3. What debt will you pay off.

4. Do you need to start a new relationship?
5. What new look would you like.
Remember, start small, baby steps can be achieved easier.

Number 3:
Create a list of your values, then make sure your actions align to your values.
If you say that you value frugal living but hit the mall every weekend, then your actions don’t match your values. Your values list  should also include no monetary values like healthy living, family, security, peace of mind, happiness, spiritual healing, and don’t forget a healthy sex life.

Well, this should be enough to get you started for the New Year. I have already started working out at the gym a little. Remember, baby steps. I want to loose just 10lbs.

Again Happy New Year,
Frugal Frank OTBS